Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
When it’s summer, I can’t get enough of recipes that use up fresh tomatoes and basil. But no matter what time of year, I’m always down with quick recipes. You can make this sauce in the time it takes to boil the pasta. My whole wheat pasta cooks in 9 minutes, so this simple sauce makes a 9 minute summer meal that’s hard to beat.
I wanted to make a dish similar to this one, but not using tofutti cream cheese. I decided to replace it with cashews. Cashews are the base of most of my favorite vegan cream sauces because they’re very rich tasting and blend easily, allowing you to create a velvety smooth sauce in your blender.
Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
Serves Two
1 Large, ripe tomato (2 cups roughly chopped, 1 1/2 cups blended)
1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced, optional
6 Ounces (ish) Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 tsp Salt (edit: upped from 3/4!)
2-3 Tbs Wine or Water, optional
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Core the tomato, then roughly chop it. Add it to your blender, seeds, skin and all. Add cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend until very smooth.
Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Pour sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If desired add wine/water to thin out the sauce. Taste and season more if necessary. Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.
Enjoy! And stay tuned this week for a big, happy announcement.
Just had this for dinner last night and I’m having it again for lunch – simple, elegant and excellent. Thanks.
I made this last night and it was magnificent! Even my sister (non-vegan, pregnant, doesn’t like nuts) loved it! I will definitely make it many, many more times. Yum!
wonderful!
made it Monday night for dinner- we also added 1.5 cups each of sauteed zucchini and cremini mushrooms. wonderful!
also taste good cold the next day for lunch
ours needed lots of salt and pepper, to notch up the flavor, as well
Simple, easy & delicious. Now you’re talkin’ my language! I think I HAVE to make this.
this sounds so YUM:) i am a new vegetarian and am always looking for alternatives to soy – not because i don’t like it, but because i don’t want to lean too heavily on it. i get concerned about that from all the “too much soy” debates…anyway, this sounds great and reminds me of the gnocchi i had at Blossom (in NYC) with cashew cream sauce (with rosemary -mmmmm)…i hope to try this recipe soon!
I made this the other night for dinner. It was a big hit! No leftovers (a mixed blessing :-)!
Then I made the spicy lime tofu with quinoa and collards, and the next night I made the creamy chickpea salad. All, as the title says, yum yum!!!
Keep ‘em coming!
Oh my gosh, this looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try it!!
This dish is fantastic. I just made it for a quick dinner, along with a nice glass of wine and I’m amazed at how delicious something so simple can be. This is definitely going to be in my regular rotation from now on. Thanks!
this looks excellent! i can’t wait to try it…thanks for sharing this :)
YUMMY!!! I made this last night, and it was as easy as it was delicious. I brought leftovers to work for everyone to try, and it was a hit with all the non-veggie.
Thank you for providing easy delicious vegan recipies for all of us to enjoy!
Thanks for this great recipe! Even my omni family liked it!
I was so glad to be able to prepare something that delicious and filling in less than half an hour after having had a long school day.
I’m so sure your announcement is about your book – I’m soooo going to buy it!
Thank you so much! This the first recipe I’ve made from your site since discovering it a couple of weeks ago. I went for it as the ingrediants were so simple – it’s often really hard to find certain ingrediants in Scotland from American vegan cookbooks, websites, etc. It’s also great as I’m trying to cut back on the Tofutti as it’s expensive (in the UK, anyway) and not so waistline-friendly! Anyway, this turned out fab for me. I even though I used a Braun handblender/food processor rather than a proper blender!
Hooray for you and your website – I hope the announcement is a cookbook too!
Just had this for dinner and we loved it. My husband said it is his new favorite pasta dish.
That looks amazing!
Hi Lolo, it’s Kayleen (thephnee’s room-mate). Daphne just made this recipe and I’m eating it right now. It’s delicious! You truly have a gift for creating excellent meals.
Mmmmm… was Yummi! I added some lemon zest and a little squish of lemon juice too… I coulda ate the whole thing myself….
And I will! but tomorrow ;)
Thanks, always, for your wonderous veganyumyums :)
I can’t believe how good this is! I had raw cashews in the freezer and tomato and basil from my garden. I didn’t have tomato paste, but I didn’t miss it. So, so, sooooooooo good – thank you!
I had to try this right away! It is delicious. I would be interested in the recipe that has the Tofutti cream cheese as well.
The entire amount of pasta I made was GONE! My husband and son helped devour everything. I had some nice leftover sauce for later in the week.
THANKS!!!!
I made this tonight and just blogged about it! Really yummy! Great recipe!
made it last night. i think i need a better blender, but for the most part came out well and my mom (non-veg) loved it! it even reheated well! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing! Sounds delish. I think I’ll try this tonight ;->
okay, so what is the big exciting news? i thought you were preggers too, but you replied no above to someone else’s comment.
Your gorgeous photo made me make it the same night–new favorite at the house! And a great intro to vegan food. Thanks so much.
Wow!! Sooo delicious and simple. I love, love loved it and so did my omni husband. This was the first recipe of yours that I have tried and I can’t wat to try more…thanks for sharing!
Wow, it look totally amazing and creamy and all over yummy!
I will definitely try it this week. Thanks!
Just found your blog today via my google reader and love it. I am not a vegan or vegetarian, even but I have recently given up dairy and have started to dabble into vegan cooking. I am looking forward to reading more!
I made this AGAIN, and threw in some nutritional yeast and a dash of cayenne pepper for fun. Still delicious! You are awesome.
I decided to go Vegan for a week and consequently make my boyfriend do the same (since I cook all the food, he can’t resist).
Anywho, during my search for recipes for the week I stumbled across your page and passed it on to two friends.
I LOVE your recipes.. the ingredient use is much more innovative than what I’m used to with most vegan recipes. The flavors are out of this world.
And going vegan for a week taught me how to truly cook and work with flavor and texture for the first time in my life (I’m 22). I decided to continue eating yogurt but I also decided to never eat meat again.
Thank you so much for your super awesome blog!!
I made this for dinner tonite. It was terrific. Our son who will be 2 years old next week liked it. He asked for more when I would give him a bite. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.
Krys
so so so so yummy good! My boyfriend made this for me for our anniversary today and I loved it so much- I only wish we hadn’t eaten it all in one go!
Oh Lolo, you’ve done it again!
This pasta dish is fan-freakin’-tastic :)
I’m already planning to make it again (even though I doubled it the first time)!
Thanks for the scrumptious recipe!
We made this with Isa’s beanballs tonight.
Great combo!
Also: if you like his, you’ll probably like this too:
Mushroom Bhaji
* Onion 1 medium sized sliced
1 big tomato, cubed
* Cashewnuts 15 to 20 soaked in water for 15 minutes
* Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
* Red chilly powder 1 tsp
* Jeera powder ½ tsp
* Garam masala powder 1 tsp
* Ginger garlic paste 1 ½ tsp
* Salt
* Oil
Sautee onions till its golden brown. Grind cashewnuts and sautéed onions into fine paste. In the same pan fry ginger garlic paste and add the ground masala to it. Add spice mix and keep stirring for a while till the raw taste of cashew goes nil. Add tomato and mushrooms and cook till the mushrooms are done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
I just made this and it was super good, even though I used dried basil instead of fresh. Next time I’ll try it with fresh basil.
I hope your big announcement has something to do with your cookbook! :)
I made this and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi,
Just a short note to let you know that you have been nominated to September IFP poll:
http://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=2962
Margot
I made this for dinner last night and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much! :)
I just made this and it was SO GOOD!!! Oi vey!
I made pesto a couple of days ago and added a spoonful of that on top of every serving. The flavor combination was HEAVENLY.
Pesto (modified from Vegan W/ A Vengeance):
-About 3 cups of tightly packed basil
-3/4 cup walnuts (toasting optional)
-about 6 cloves garlic
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 – 3/4 cup olive oil
-1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
-coarse fresh ground pepper
Put basil, walnuts, garlic, and salt into a food processor or blender. Pour oil in as you blend, then add balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!
Thanks for the great recipe – I look forward to making this again!
Delicious! First time making one of your recipes and this one is a hit. Thank you for sharing!
Can´t wait to try this recipe after all the raving about it! :o)
Still waiting for that happy announcement…
Announcement?!
Thanks so much for such a great recipe. I made this on Monday and the family LOVED it. We’ve just found out that my 16 mo old is lactose intolerant, and so we’re searching for great sauces and such. Your blog is such a fantastic resource!
The meal was quick and delicious. You just can’t beat that!
Oh my gosh, this was amazing! I made it tonight for dinner, I can’t believe how good it tasted, my cats loved it too! xox
That looks fantastic!
My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures!!! That looks soooo yummy!!!